28th Anniversary
October 29, 2022
State of Colorado
Rocky Mountain National Park
Day One
It is always a rush to get to the airport on time after a full day of Letsche life, but we did and after a quick airport dinner, were thrilled to be on the plane together on our way from Seattle to Denver, Colorado. Our rental car, a Nissan Rogue, was zippy but not zippy enough to get us to the Lumber Baron Inn before the clock moved us officially into Friday. We crept in to the quiet, old bed and breakfast, found our way through the creaky house to our room, and slept deeply.
Day Two
We woke to a stunningly sunny and crisp morning in Denver and enjoyed a lovely breakfast in the historic house. On our way to the day’s adventure, we stopped to recognize the spot where the cheeseburger was first named and patented in 1935. The restaurant is no longer on the spot, but a solid bank building certainly is. My, how history makes a mark and moves along! Driving to Manitou Springs, we continued our tradition of listening to an Agatha Christy, Poirot mystery. Murder in Mesopotamia was the story of the day. As we passed the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, we stopped at an overlook to watch glider planes being towed into the sky and released to practice their landings. We also got to see parachutists jumping from their planes to practice their maneuvers. Our favorite was a glider that was released higher than the others and proceeded to practice loops, dives, tight circles, and turns. It seemed as if it were a bird having a great time on the thermals. Upon arriving in Manitou Springs, we discovered that it was originally famous (and named) for its eight naturally carbonated mineral springs. We were given a brochure listing the mineral composition and health benefits of each spring and invited to walk the quaint town and taste from each fountain in order to compare the waters. It was an unexpected delight! The minerals had distinct flavors even as each one tasted quite clean and refreshing. The only bummer for Eric in visiting Manitou Springs was he didn't get to climb the Manitou Incline.
After our intense hydration, we traveled up the road to the Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway where we rode up to the summit of Pikes Peak (14,115 feet). Another unexpected pleasure was that our train car of people had the summit to ourselves due to a snowfall the day before that closed driving access. What an incredible view! It turns out that we all know the poem written by English teacher Katharine Lee Bates in 1893 after she witnessed the same view. Oh, beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain. . . Well, we sing it now as one of our patriotic songs, America, the Beautiful. We absolutely see why she was inspired to write such a poem after seeing the scope of the landscape today.
On our way back to Denver, we plunged deeper in our Poirot mystery and stopped for dinner at Tony Roma’s, an old favorite restaurant from our days in Burbank, California. While the ambiance was lacking from our olden days, the ribs were still tasty. Eric found Colorado Cherry Co, Pie + Provisions for dessert. Wow! What happiness for the tastebuds! It is a fourth generation family cherry pie and cider operation. Julie, of course, had a piece of cherry pie – her favorite. Eric enjoyed a piece of bourbon apple pie with caramel crumble topping. Both were shout-out worthy. Stop there if you are ever in Denver. That was a filling end of our amazing first day In Colorado.
Day Three
Thirty years ago, Eric introduced Julie to backpacking as college friends. We hiked the Estes Park side of Rocky Mountain National Park during one of our school breaks. Today, after 28 years of marriage, we returned to Estes Park just north of Boulder, CO and Rocky Mountain National Park to tromp around, gaze at the stunning mountains, and renew our wedding vows to one another. While we renewed our covenant without an officiant, we were witnessed by foxes, a herd of elk, a family of deer, and soaring birds of all sizes. The snowcapped mountains and the verdant valleys were a balm to the eyes on a sunny fall day. Back in Boulder we found the house which served as the establishing shot for Mork & Mindy, the 1970s sitcom starring Robin Williams that Eric and Julie remember watching as kids. Our intent was to tour the Celestial Seasons Tea Company, but they were still shut to visitors after Covid. We snagged a few photos but tasted no tea.
After a quick bite of lunch on the way back to Denver, we stopped for a tour at Stranahan’s Whiskey Distillery where we learned about the distilling of whiskey and the finishing process. We were able to taste the differences in the flavors resulting from each finishing barrel and aging period. It was interesting to hear the community portion of their business as they pursue partnerships with local farmers, international barrel sharing, and ties to the families that originally partnered together to start the process years ago. We left in time to make our dining reservation for the evening, Buckhorn Exchange, known for the rare 500-piece collection of game mounted around the restaurant -- deer and moose; giant buffalo and mountain sheep; dozens of indigenous fowl; even a two-headed calf and jackalope. Teddy Roosevelt even contributed with a water buffalo head mounted at the entrance. If you want to read more of the history of the Buckhorn, it is fascinating. The fascinating part was the menu filled with wild game specialties. We enjoyed fried alligator to start and the shared a sampling of buffalo prime rib, elk, quail, and lamb. All were deliciously prepared to melt in your mouth, but our top two favorites were the buffalo and the elk. Even though we were stuffed (pardon the pun), we could not pass up dessert at Little Man Ice Cream where we stood outside in a long line under a huge tin milk pitcher waiting for some famous homemade ice cream. Julie raved about the banana pudding flavor, but Eric touted his caramel apple pie as supreme. It was a refreshing and fun day together.
Day Four
We checked out of our bed and breakfast and drove to the heart of downtown to Trinity Church Denver where we worshiped with the saints, enjoyed new fellowship, and received strong preaching of the Word. After the service we walked around the capitol, stopped to be ‘swept away’ by the sculptures, and found Henry Barnes’ first pedestrian crosswalk signal from 1952. Eric treated Julie to a Schlotzsky’s sandwich (one of her favorites) on the way to the airport. Still listening to the murder mystery, we had to finish it in the terminal. All in all we treasured our time together, the stunning sunshine on the mountains, the conversation, the giggles, the food, the sights, and of course, being married. To another beautiful year...
October 29, 2022
State of Colorado
Rocky Mountain National Park
Day One
It is always a rush to get to the airport on time after a full day of Letsche life, but we did and after a quick airport dinner, were thrilled to be on the plane together on our way from Seattle to Denver, Colorado. Our rental car, a Nissan Rogue, was zippy but not zippy enough to get us to the Lumber Baron Inn before the clock moved us officially into Friday. We crept in to the quiet, old bed and breakfast, found our way through the creaky house to our room, and slept deeply.
Day Two
We woke to a stunningly sunny and crisp morning in Denver and enjoyed a lovely breakfast in the historic house. On our way to the day’s adventure, we stopped to recognize the spot where the cheeseburger was first named and patented in 1935. The restaurant is no longer on the spot, but a solid bank building certainly is. My, how history makes a mark and moves along! Driving to Manitou Springs, we continued our tradition of listening to an Agatha Christy, Poirot mystery. Murder in Mesopotamia was the story of the day. As we passed the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, we stopped at an overlook to watch glider planes being towed into the sky and released to practice their landings. We also got to see parachutists jumping from their planes to practice their maneuvers. Our favorite was a glider that was released higher than the others and proceeded to practice loops, dives, tight circles, and turns. It seemed as if it were a bird having a great time on the thermals. Upon arriving in Manitou Springs, we discovered that it was originally famous (and named) for its eight naturally carbonated mineral springs. We were given a brochure listing the mineral composition and health benefits of each spring and invited to walk the quaint town and taste from each fountain in order to compare the waters. It was an unexpected delight! The minerals had distinct flavors even as each one tasted quite clean and refreshing. The only bummer for Eric in visiting Manitou Springs was he didn't get to climb the Manitou Incline.
After our intense hydration, we traveled up the road to the Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway where we rode up to the summit of Pikes Peak (14,115 feet). Another unexpected pleasure was that our train car of people had the summit to ourselves due to a snowfall the day before that closed driving access. What an incredible view! It turns out that we all know the poem written by English teacher Katharine Lee Bates in 1893 after she witnessed the same view. Oh, beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain. . . Well, we sing it now as one of our patriotic songs, America, the Beautiful. We absolutely see why she was inspired to write such a poem after seeing the scope of the landscape today.
On our way back to Denver, we plunged deeper in our Poirot mystery and stopped for dinner at Tony Roma’s, an old favorite restaurant from our days in Burbank, California. While the ambiance was lacking from our olden days, the ribs were still tasty. Eric found Colorado Cherry Co, Pie + Provisions for dessert. Wow! What happiness for the tastebuds! It is a fourth generation family cherry pie and cider operation. Julie, of course, had a piece of cherry pie – her favorite. Eric enjoyed a piece of bourbon apple pie with caramel crumble topping. Both were shout-out worthy. Stop there if you are ever in Denver. That was a filling end of our amazing first day In Colorado.
Day Three
Thirty years ago, Eric introduced Julie to backpacking as college friends. We hiked the Estes Park side of Rocky Mountain National Park during one of our school breaks. Today, after 28 years of marriage, we returned to Estes Park just north of Boulder, CO and Rocky Mountain National Park to tromp around, gaze at the stunning mountains, and renew our wedding vows to one another. While we renewed our covenant without an officiant, we were witnessed by foxes, a herd of elk, a family of deer, and soaring birds of all sizes. The snowcapped mountains and the verdant valleys were a balm to the eyes on a sunny fall day. Back in Boulder we found the house which served as the establishing shot for Mork & Mindy, the 1970s sitcom starring Robin Williams that Eric and Julie remember watching as kids. Our intent was to tour the Celestial Seasons Tea Company, but they were still shut to visitors after Covid. We snagged a few photos but tasted no tea.
After a quick bite of lunch on the way back to Denver, we stopped for a tour at Stranahan’s Whiskey Distillery where we learned about the distilling of whiskey and the finishing process. We were able to taste the differences in the flavors resulting from each finishing barrel and aging period. It was interesting to hear the community portion of their business as they pursue partnerships with local farmers, international barrel sharing, and ties to the families that originally partnered together to start the process years ago. We left in time to make our dining reservation for the evening, Buckhorn Exchange, known for the rare 500-piece collection of game mounted around the restaurant -- deer and moose; giant buffalo and mountain sheep; dozens of indigenous fowl; even a two-headed calf and jackalope. Teddy Roosevelt even contributed with a water buffalo head mounted at the entrance. If you want to read more of the history of the Buckhorn, it is fascinating. The fascinating part was the menu filled with wild game specialties. We enjoyed fried alligator to start and the shared a sampling of buffalo prime rib, elk, quail, and lamb. All were deliciously prepared to melt in your mouth, but our top two favorites were the buffalo and the elk. Even though we were stuffed (pardon the pun), we could not pass up dessert at Little Man Ice Cream where we stood outside in a long line under a huge tin milk pitcher waiting for some famous homemade ice cream. Julie raved about the banana pudding flavor, but Eric touted his caramel apple pie as supreme. It was a refreshing and fun day together.
Day Four
We checked out of our bed and breakfast and drove to the heart of downtown to Trinity Church Denver where we worshiped with the saints, enjoyed new fellowship, and received strong preaching of the Word. After the service we walked around the capitol, stopped to be ‘swept away’ by the sculptures, and found Henry Barnes’ first pedestrian crosswalk signal from 1952. Eric treated Julie to a Schlotzsky’s sandwich (one of her favorites) on the way to the airport. Still listening to the murder mystery, we had to finish it in the terminal. All in all we treasured our time together, the stunning sunshine on the mountains, the conversation, the giggles, the food, the sights, and of course, being married. To another beautiful year...